Lost And Found
by High Functioning Trekkie
Summary: Luke and Han on Hoth. Better summary in story. PLEASE R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, so this is my first attempt at actually writing anything resembling fan fiction. I have had this story in my head for several months now, and my sister actually is the one who inspired me to write it down and publish it.

Brief Summary: This is centered on one of my fave events from the trilogy, when Han goes out after Luke on Hoth. I have no idea why, but I just really like brotherly type bonding stuff. Basically, this is what, if I were George Lucas, I would have done with this event.

Oh, on that note, I am most definitely NOT George Lucas and do not own Star Wars or any of the characters mentioned in this story. (Even though I'd love to own Luke!)

Btw, _italics_ = thoughts

Lost And Found

Ch. 1

_Cold. _

Absolutely mind numbing cold.

That was all Luke Skywalker was aware of. After his harrowing escape from the Wampa, he had gotten hopelessly lost on Hoth's icy plain. Every inch of his body ached. As the light started fading faster, he knew, deep down, that he had to make it back to base before dark. He pressed the switch on his comlink.

"Echo Three to Echo Base. Do you read me?"

Silence was his only reply. _Apparently not. _He began the long trek back to the base. If he didn't find his way back soon, he was a dead man. He only hoped he was going the right direction.

Han Solo stalked toward his ship, the _Millennium Falcon_. He stopped abruptly when he saw that Chewie had helpfully removed the central lifters. Exasperated, he started shouting at his furry best friend.

"Why would you do this NOW? I'm tryin' to get us outta here and you pull-," he was interrupted by the soft beeping of his comlink. He glanced at it, extremely annoyed, as he reached over to shut it off. Whatever or whoever it was could wait. He had much more important things to worry about, like what Chewie had done to his ship. Later though, he would regret his hasty decision.

Princess Leia paced in her private chambers. Why wouldn't Han answer his comlink? _Maybe, _a small, painfully honest voice whispered, _you were too mean to him earlier. Maybe you hurt his feelings. _At that errant thought, she rolled her eyes. Han Solo, getting his feelings hurt? She shook her head. _In what world? _Her momentary amusement was cut short as she remembered WHY she had been trying to reach Han. Her other friend, sweet, kind, Luke was AWOL. And Captain Solo was the last person who had talked to him.

Han and Chewie were focusing on fixing the latter's "work" on the right lifter when Han's comlink beeped again. Han sighed. Whoever it was better have a good reason for interrupting him when he was working on the _Falcon_. He rolled out from under his ship and answered his comlink.

"What do you want," Solo answered in a biting voice, "I'm busy here."

Princess Leia's voice crackled through the comlink. "Han, do you know where Luke is? He should have been back by now, and he's not." She paused for a moment. "And you were the last person to see him."

Han frowned, worry creasing his face. Luke wasn't back? This was news to him. He glanced over toward the opening of the hangar. It was almost full dark, and it was cold. What could have possibly stopped him from returning? _Better not think about that._ His furry first mate had his own opinion of course. _Maybe, cub, if you had answered the comlink the first time…_. However, when Han glared at the Wookiee, he shut his mouth.

"Well," Han finally said, "I don't know where he is."

When the Rebel princess answered, her voice was thick with suppressed tears.

"No one does."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, so here's the next chapter! I actually have been stuck at home the past few days thanks to the stupid weather, so I am almost done with this story. Probably only two or three more chapters left…

I also want to thank everyone who reviewed! Keep it up!

Again, not George Lucas….don't own Star Wars….not doing this for profit…..yeah.

Chapter Two

Those three words were enough to stop Han's heart a beat. Surely_ someone_ knew where he was.

"Have you checked with the Deck Officer? The other pilots?"

"Han, that was the first place I checked," Leia closed her eyes. "He wasn't there. They didn't know any more than we do."

All options exhausted, Han was forced to face the facts. His little brother, Luke, was missing. No one knew where he was. He hadn't come back. He was out there somewhere, alone.

"I'll go after him," Solo replied, "he can't stay out there all night."

Leia sighed. "Han, you can't. There's no way you would get clearance."

Amused, Han said, "And what would make you think Han Solo asks for permission?"

Leia scowled despite herself. He was just so impossible. What was he thinking? She was worried too, but she knew better than to try and leave the base without permission, especially after dark. As she was contemplating his stubbornness, she heard his parting words over the comlink.

"So long, Princess. See you later."

_Wait, what? _ Was he serious? He couldn't just LEAVE like that. Didn't he know the consequences of going out in the bitter cold of Hoth's merciless night? The temperatures were as low as 60 degrees below zero! He'd freeze before he even got _close_ to finding Luke.

"Han-,"

No reply. He was gone. Leia sat down and hoped that the two Rebel heroes would make it through the cold, cold night.

Meanwhile, Han had made his way to the makeshift stable that housed the tauntauns. He quickly selected one and mounted. After re-buttoning his coat, he raced away to find the boy who'd become like a little brother to him.

Luke continued to stumble through the deep snow. It had been so long since he had felt anything but the cold. He knew he must have frostbite, hypothermia, and Force only knew what else. He wasn't so sure he was going the right way anymore. It had been getting harder and harder to stay upright. He had already fallen countless times, soaking through his "snow-proof" clothing. Surely the Alliance had noticed his absence and sent out a search party long ago. They'd find him soon. He comforted himself with this hope. _But what if they haven't? What if Han forgot? What if I have to spend the night out here? _ He shuddered, not just from the cold. He _really_ didn't want to know the answer to that question. Hopefully, Han had noticed that he'd never returned from his expedition to check out the meteorite, and had organized a search party.

The glacial Hoth wind blew clouds of snow into Han's face. He could barely see his hand in front of him. Despite this, he continued to scan the horizon for his missing friend. Several minutes later, he stopped and stood in the knee deep snow. Adjusting a button on his scanner, he squinted out at the ice plain. His contraption beeped seconds later. No life forms detected. His already heavy heart sank like a lead balloon. What was he thinking? There was no way Luke could still be alive. The kid was from a desert for cryin' out loud. How long could he possibly last in these conditions? _Stop,_ he told himself, _you __**will **__find Luke and he __**will **__be fine. _Han knew he had to hold onto that hope. He suddenly became aware of his tauntauns gasps and wheezing. He willed it to survive until he found Luke. Han just hoped it would be soon.

Han and Luke weren't back yet. Leia's worry continued to grow as she stared out the entrance to ice cave. Were they hurt? Were they _dead? _Leia hated not knowing. Her macabre thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Major Derlin.

"Princess, we can't do anything else tonight. We have to close the shield doors," he sounded truly upset, "I'm sorry."

Leia nodded, lost in thought. The clang of the closing doors echoed through the hangar like a death sentence for the two Rebels missing. The loud noise roused her briefly, as did Chewie's mournful howl. In a daze, she turned toward her chambers, anticipating a long, sleepless night of worry.

Almost an hour had passed, and Han had yet to find Luke. He was almost ready to give up when he saw a figure floundering around in the snow ahead. His last dying embers sparked again into burning hope as he spurred his mount forward.

Luke tripped yet again. This time, unlike the other twelve million, he just lay there. _Why bother with getting up, _he thought, _I'll only fall back down._ Each breath hurt. He was so cold….so cold…..

He had no comprehension of how long he had been laying there in the snow. When he opened his eyes again, he was warm. Knowing this was a bad sign, he struggled to stand again. But he was so tired. In the space of ten seconds, he fought and lost the battle with his heavy lids. The last thing Luke heard was Han calling his name.

So, that's chapter two. I should have ch. 3 up sometime today or tomorrow. It's almost done, but my time on the computer is limited, so I have to wait. PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

I obviously do not own Star Wars. George Lucas does.

A/N: So sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I said I'd update in a day or two, and it's been two weeks….. There are probably two reasons. One, we missed two weeks of school b/c of snow, and the teachers assigned two weeks worth of homework in a day. Two, I wasn't really happy with this chapter (still not) but I decided to post it anyway…. Thanks to those of you who are reading this!

Please review!

Lost and Found

Ch. 3

Han saw Luke crumple facedown in the snow. The younger man weakly lifted his head, then, seeing Han, let it drop once more. Panicking, the smuggler leaped from his wheezing tauntaun and stumbled toward his fallen friend.

"Luke!"

No reply. He knelt down beside his young friend, wincing inwardly as he turned him over. Luke's face was badly torn on one side and the infected wounds were leaking fluids. _Great._ Not only was his friend suffering from myriad scrapes and bruises, he most likely dealing with fever. A quick touch of the kid's forehead confirmed Han's fears. The skin was burning hot, despite the subzero temperatures. The skin that was not bruised or broken was a sickly yellow color, a sure sign of frostbite. Any of these things alone would be cause for reasonable concern, and the poor kid had to deal with all three.

"Luke! Can you hear me? Don't do this, Luke," Han implored gently shaking his friend's shoulder.

To Han's great relief, when he leaned over Luke's still form, he could feel the faint breath on his cheek and could hear the faint heartbeat. Luke stirred momentarily and moaned softly, and the Corellian carefully picked him up, trying not to cause further injury.

Han felt a pang in his heart as Luke's smaller cold body curled closer to the warmth of his chest. The kid obviously trusted him to take care of him until they got out of this mess. Turning back toward his ride, Han began the slow trek through the deep snow. Halfway there, the beast gave an awful gasping breath and fell to the ground. Dead. Han stopped in his tracks. _Great. What am I going to do now? _He groaned softly. They'd have to spend the night out here. Thinking fast, he shifted Luke to his waist, eliciting a soft cry of pain.

"Sorry, kid," Han grunted, unhooking Luke's lightsaber, "but I'm gonna need this for a second."

Using the laser sword, he cut down the length of the beast, from head to tail. Reeling from the odor, he gently set Luke down and began removing the entrails of the frozen beast. Han wrinkled his nose, eyes watering.

"And I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"***

After completely cleaning out the tauntaun, he worked Luke's inert body into its carcass. The kid was moaning and muttering unintelligibly.

"Ben….. don't go… Dagobah…"

Han frowned. _What in the world was Luke talking about? _He seriously hoped Luke wasn't getting delirious. It was a bad sign, a sign that his condition was worsening.

"Come on, Luke. Just hang on a little longer," Han said, and, giving his friend a final pat on the shoulder, began setting up the Alliance shelter, his and Luke's only protection against Hoth's ruthless night.

It only took Han a few minutes to build the small shelter. He then removed Luke from the tauntaun and carried him into the shelter. Laying him down on the thermal pad and covering him with a blanket, the smuggler began gently cleansing Luke's torn face. When the youth moaned pathetically and tried to roll away, Han grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

"Hey, kid, don't try to fight me," he said, attempting to soothe the young warrior, "I'm tryin' to help you."

To his relief, Luke relaxed somewhat. Enough anyhow, to allow Han to finish his work. Piling another blanket on the still form, he began rummaging through the Alliance survival kit. At last, he found the object of his search- the glow lamp. After inserting the emergency power cell, he positioned the light between Luke and himself in an effort to provide additional warmth. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would help the kid.

Han was jolted awake by a soft moan. He turned his head toward the blanketed form beside him. Tired, pain filled blue eyes looked at the smuggler. Han gasped, then, crawling over to be nearer to his injured little brother.

"Luke! You're awake," he said happily.

The young Jedi smiled weakly, reaching out toward his friend. "Yeah. Sorry I woke you up," he looked truly remorseful, "I didn't mean to."

Han rolled his eyes, helping Luke to sit up. _The kid could be so silly sometimes. _It suddenly struck him just how relieved he was that Luke was awake to be so silly. Pulling the younger man into a tight hug, he said:

"You don't have anything to be sorry _for_, kid. I'm glad you woke me up. I was really getting worried."

Luke snuggled closer to Han. He was _so_ tired. But, knowing that Han was here, with him, knowing that he wasn't alone anymore made him feel a lot better.

"Thanks, Han."

The Corellian smiled. "Glad to be of service, kid."

Luke laughed softly, abruptly breaking off in a whimper. Han loosened his grip on him, leaning back to examine his friend with concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Luke said, quickly amending when the smuggler opened his mouth to protest, "I mean, just my face."

Han sighed, reaching once again for the medkit.

"Okay," he said, noting the pink stained gauze and bandages as he found replacements, "I'm gonna try and patch you up better now that you're conscious."

Luke simply nodded and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall of the shelter. Even though his friend was conscious again, Solo still worried. He could clean the various scratches, but nothing in the medkit would do much for a high fever. Luke inhaled sharply, and Han made a mental note to be gentler. He hated to see Luke in pain, especially because he couldn't do much about it.

"Hey, kid. I'm almost done." he murmured, placing the last bandage on Luke's face.

Luke simply sighed. He was asleep. Han shook his head, smiling gently. As he put the various supplies back in the bag, he couldn't help but think how young and innocent Luke looked when he slept. _Just like a typical farm boy,_ Solo thought as he settled in for the long night ahead.

Thank you so much for reading this! I really don't like this chapter that much…. But tell me what you think! PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, fair warning, it may be a while before I can get chapter four (final chap!) up, because I am super busy the next few weeks…

*** I really liked this line in the movie. I thought it was funny. . . :)


	4. Chapter 4

OK, to everyone who has been waiting for me to update this story, here is the final chapter. . . I'm not quite happy with it, but this is the only opportunity that I have had and will have for quite a while. Hope it's not too terrible, but even if it is, please review and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I wasn't George Lucas. *looks at id* Nope, still not.

BTW, sorry to anyone who got update notices prior to the new chapter. . . I was doing some grammar revisions. I actually don't know if it notified anyone or not, but if it did, I am sorry!

Oh, and _italics_ means someone's thoughts.

Chapter Four

Luke awoke with a start. Breathing heavily, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. The icy grip of fear that had clenched his heart dissipated when he saw Han, snoring quietly a few feet away.

As soon as he saw the Corellian, the young man knew he would be alright. Han wouldn't let anything else happen to him. At that thought, he shuddered, the horrors of the day and of his dreams still fresh in his mind. He knew part of the reason behind his nightmare was that he had gotten sick. That much he remembered.

Grabbing his thermal pad and blanket, he crawled over toward his friend. It would be a lot warmer, but mostly, he just wanted to be nearer to the smuggler's comforting presence. Curling beside Han was in fact warmer, and the young Jedi quickly fell asleep again.

_Beep! _The shrill sound right next to Han's ear was enough to jolt him awake. Swearing, the Corellian kicked away his blankets, searching for his com link. It took him a few moments, but he finally found it. Pressing the power switch, he heard the most wonderful sound in the universe- a human voice.

"Commander Skywalker, do you copy? Captain Solo, do you copy?"

Han grinned, glancing over at Luke. His smile faded somewhat as he took in the younger man's condition. His skin was still somewhat yellowed and the myriad cuts on his face were once again oozing with infection.

"Hey," the smuggler said, shaking Luke's shoulders gently, "our ride's here."

No reply. The kid only rolled over with a quiet moan.

But Han was not one to give up. Scooping Luke up, he struggled to answer the still talking com unit.

"Good morning! Nice of you guys to drop by!"

The joyous shout echoed in the small shelter. Quickly piling the contents of the survival kit into his pack, he shouldered it, adjusting Luke on his hip. Ducking out into the bright sunlight, he smiled again as he saw the speeder. He could barely contain his relief as the pilot, Zev, climbed down to help them both into the speeder. They would be back at the base soon.

Leia slowly made her way toward the command center. Her heart was somewhere around her middle. As she had expected, it had been a long night, and this day, spent searching for her friends bodies would be just as long, painful, and exhausting, if not more so.

Pushing the door open, she saw- business as usual. No one seemed to be mourning the two dead rebels. Except her. Suddenly, one of the com operators jumped up with a shout.

"Rouge Two's found them! Commander Skywalker and Captain Solo," he paused, taking a deep breath, "they're alive!"

Cheers resounded in every corner of the room.

Leia's head snapped up. She could not have heard that right. Finding her voice at last, she whispered,

"What did you just say?"

The young man glanced at her as he replaced his headphones.

"Captain Solo and Commander Skywalker are alive. They're being brought back to base now."

A genuine smile slowly spread across her face.

"Thank you," she called, turning on her heel to dash toward the hangar, all her former worry and fear transformed into near uncontrollable relief and joy.

_If this flight takes much longer, I'm walkin' the rest of the way. . . _Han was getting antsy. He knew the speeder had only been airborne for about two minutes, but it felt like two hundred.

"How much longer is this gonna take," Solo asked, unable to keep his impatience out of the query.

"Not much longer," came the reply, "we're almost there."

"Good."

He was really getting worried about Luke, even more than he had been before. The kid had long since stopped shivering, a sign that his condition was worsening.

A slight bump brought his attention away from Luke.

"Are-," the smuggler was cut off before he'd even begun.

"We're back," the pilot said, reading the smuggler's mind, "You should probably get Commander Skywalker to the med center."

Han sighed. _How stupid do they think I am? _

"I thought we were gonna go out for drinks and throw one heck of a party, instead."

The pilot furrowed his brow.

Han almost groaned. "Joking," he said, rolling his eyes. "I was joking."

Shaking his head, he started toward said med center, Luke's limp form still clutched to his chest. However, he was almost knocked down when a certain Alliance leader, closely followed by a Wookiee, dashed around the corner.

"Oh, I'm so-," Leia began, falling silent as she looked up at the person she had just collided with.

"Han," she breathed, "Luke. Are you okay?"

Touched by her apparent concern, the Corellian replied:

"I'm fine, Princess, and Luke will be, as soon as I get him to the med center."

Hearing a soft whine, Han turned his head to see his furry co-pilot standing behind the princess.

"Hey, Chewie!"

The Wookiee growled at him, placing a large, furry paw on Han's shoulder.

"**What were you thinking, cub?**"

"Oh, no. Not you too. You are not going to get that started."

Leia laughed, taking in the scene.

"Come on, boys, let's go."

They weren't allowed to stay with Luke. As soon as the reunited trio reached the med bay, Luke had been whisked away. Now the kid was in a bacta tank. Han and Leia were as close as they could get, watching him intently through a glass window.

Leia turned to look at the stony faced Corellian.

"Han, are you alright," she asked. " I mean, you spent the night out there too."

"I'm fine. It's the kid I'm worried about now." He abruptly turned to look at her.

"What if he's not okay? What if he doesn't remember what happened? What if-," Leia placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

"Han, 'what if'-ing is not going to help anyone. And he's going to be fine. Because of you," she paused, shuddering as she considered the alternative, "If you hadn't gone after him, he would probably be dead now."

Just then, Two One Bee rolled up, announcing that Luke was being removed from the tank, and going to a regular room. After shooting Han an I-told-you-so look, Leia grabbed his hand, pulling him after the retreating medical droid.

They paused as the hover stretcher passed in front of them. Luke was still asleep, but he looked a lot better. Leia used her free hand to brush some of the sandy blond hair out of his closed blue eyes. Almost as if he was aware of her presence, he moaned and stirred slightly, more hair falling into his eyes. She smiled, tears welling up as she realized just how close she had come to losing him forever.

"Oh, Luke," she whispered, "if you ever do that again, I don't know what I'd do."

Han glanced back up at her. "Let's just hope he never does."

"I second that."

Both smuggler and princess jumped at the unexpected voice. Each looked at the other confused, then simultaneously grinned and looked down.

Tired blue eyes stared back at them. Luke smiled weakly, squeezing Leia's hand.

"Hey, Han. Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine, kid," the Corellian said, "What about you?"

He yawned. "Tired. But fine."

Han and Leia smiled, relieved that Luke was finally conscious, and that he was his lucid, normal, farmboy self.

"Just sleep," Leia said.

"We'll still be here when you wake up, kid."

By now, they were at the room. Everything was going to be fine now.

THE END!

Hope you enjoyed! Please review!

Oh also, I am currently working on another story so if anyone is interested in that, the first part will be up as soon as I have the time.


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